911 Fire Department Response - How it Works
Kurt Kamm
July 03, 2008
Did you ever wonder what goes on at the fire department´s emergency call center when you dial 911? The County of Los Angeles (which includes the City of Los Angeles), is one of the largest in the nation, covering almost 4,100 square miles and has a population of almost 10 million. The Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County Fire Departments are responsible for responding to all 911 non-law enforcement emergency calls coming in from this area.
Twenty-five years ago, the fire department was primarily responsible for responding to fires. Today, over 80% of calls coming in are non-fire related. Vehicle accidents, health problems, injuries, hazmat spills, cats on the roof, and just about every other type of problem can result in a 911 call. On an average day, as many as 1,800 calls come in to each of the City and County call centers. Seventy-five percent result in the dispatch of emergency equipment.
All 911 calls are routed through law enforcement. If the call comes from a landline, it goes through the L.A. Police Department or the L.A. County Sheriff´s Department, depending on the origin of the call. If the call is from a cell phone, it is relayed through the California Highway Patrol. If the call is anything other than a pure law enforcement issue, it is forwarded to the either the City or County 911 center.
Each center is staffed 24/7 with as many as 20 men and women. They work 12-hour shifts (with 2 hours of breaks), 15 days per month. In the case of automobile accidents or other events that require both police and fire response, law enforcement operators will dispatch their own personnel. The law enforcement operator will remain on the line if the event requires both law and fire personnel, or until a hand-off is made to the fire department.
Each incoming call to the fire department is given an ID number, and is displayed in chronological order with elapsed time and the name of the call taker on one of the large screens visible to everyone in the center. A call from a landline will immediately display the location of the caller´s telephone. In the case of a cell phone, the caller´s location must be ascertained.
The call taker does several things. First, he gets a name, and confirms the address of the caller. Next, he determines what the emergency is. Twenty-five percent of the calls are not 911 type issues and can often be resolved quickly with no further action. If there is a language problem, the call taker can connect to interpreters speaking two dozen different languages. (92 foreign languages are spoken in L.A. County.) Multiple incoming calls for the same emergency are usually identified by the call takers and screened out. This done by "room awareness" rather than by any computer software. The call takers are often doing several things at once – listening to conversations going on around them, talking on their own line, and connecting with dispatchers.
If a response is required, the call taker immediately alerts a dispatcher (sometimes called a telephone-radio operator, or "TRO") in the same room.
If there is a health issue, the call taker asks for symptoms. At his desk is a set of cards organized by type of symptom (shortness of breath, stomach pain, loss of consciousness). Each card lists questions and recommended actions. The call taker talks the caller through the successive questions and each step of care. The first question is always, "Is the person conscious?" If necessary, the call taker will remain on the line to calm the caller, give further instructions, etc. up to the time the emergency responders arrive.
At the dispatcher´s end of the call, once the address is determined, a detailed street map of the area is brought up on a screen, so that the dispatcher knows the location of the emergency. A separate screen shows a map of L.A. City or L.A. County and the location of each of the 114 City/200 County fire stations. Each piece of equipment at each station is indicated (paramedic, swift-water rescue, urban search and rescue, etc.). When a truck or engine is available, it transmits a signal telling the software that it can respond to the call. The software indicates to the dispatcher the nearest available piece of equipment, and the dispatcher calls the appropriate station.
The dispatcher also has access to the map showing the location of the emergency and helps guide the responders to the location. Newer engines have their own global positioning equipment. Often the call taker has to instruct a caller to "stand on the street and watch for the fire department."
When major fires or other catastrophes (earthquakes) occur, the centers have expanded capabilities to deal with the particular event. To get an idea of the magnitude of what can occur, the Old Topanga Fire in 1993 in L. A. County was one the largest deployment of emergency equipment in US history. It involved over 7,000 firefighters from 1,000 fire companies. The centers are also integrating into the Homeland Security communications system and are adopting ROSS, Resource Ordering and Status System reporting. There is also a mechanism at the County center for alerting Southern California to an impending Tsunami.
Feel better about a potential emergency?
Kurt Kamm writes novels about fires and firefighters. A resident of Malibu, he has lived through several wildland fires. He is a regular visitor at the fire camps, stations and training academies of L.A. County Fire Department and CalFire. To learn more about his novels, One Foot in the Black, and Red Flag Warning, visit http://www.kurtkamm.com. Copyright 2008
Twenty-five years ago, the fire department was primarily responsible for responding to fires. Today, over 80% of calls coming in are non-fire related. Vehicle accidents, health problems, injuries, hazmat spills, cats on the roof, and just about every other type of problem can result in a 911 call. On an average day, as many as 1,800 calls come in to each of the City and County call centers. Seventy-five percent result in the dispatch of emergency equipment.
All 911 calls are routed through law enforcement. If the call comes from a landline, it goes through the L.A. Police Department or the L.A. County Sheriff´s Department, depending on the origin of the call. If the call is from a cell phone, it is relayed through the California Highway Patrol. If the call is anything other than a pure law enforcement issue, it is forwarded to the either the City or County 911 center.
Each center is staffed 24/7 with as many as 20 men and women. They work 12-hour shifts (with 2 hours of breaks), 15 days per month. In the case of automobile accidents or other events that require both police and fire response, law enforcement operators will dispatch their own personnel. The law enforcement operator will remain on the line if the event requires both law and fire personnel, or until a hand-off is made to the fire department.
Each incoming call to the fire department is given an ID number, and is displayed in chronological order with elapsed time and the name of the call taker on one of the large screens visible to everyone in the center. A call from a landline will immediately display the location of the caller´s telephone. In the case of a cell phone, the caller´s location must be ascertained.
The call taker does several things. First, he gets a name, and confirms the address of the caller. Next, he determines what the emergency is. Twenty-five percent of the calls are not 911 type issues and can often be resolved quickly with no further action. If there is a language problem, the call taker can connect to interpreters speaking two dozen different languages. (92 foreign languages are spoken in L.A. County.) Multiple incoming calls for the same emergency are usually identified by the call takers and screened out. This done by "room awareness" rather than by any computer software. The call takers are often doing several things at once – listening to conversations going on around them, talking on their own line, and connecting with dispatchers.
If a response is required, the call taker immediately alerts a dispatcher (sometimes called a telephone-radio operator, or "TRO") in the same room.
If there is a health issue, the call taker asks for symptoms. At his desk is a set of cards organized by type of symptom (shortness of breath, stomach pain, loss of consciousness). Each card lists questions and recommended actions. The call taker talks the caller through the successive questions and each step of care. The first question is always, "Is the person conscious?" If necessary, the call taker will remain on the line to calm the caller, give further instructions, etc. up to the time the emergency responders arrive.
At the dispatcher´s end of the call, once the address is determined, a detailed street map of the area is brought up on a screen, so that the dispatcher knows the location of the emergency. A separate screen shows a map of L.A. City or L.A. County and the location of each of the 114 City/200 County fire stations. Each piece of equipment at each station is indicated (paramedic, swift-water rescue, urban search and rescue, etc.). When a truck or engine is available, it transmits a signal telling the software that it can respond to the call. The software indicates to the dispatcher the nearest available piece of equipment, and the dispatcher calls the appropriate station.
The dispatcher also has access to the map showing the location of the emergency and helps guide the responders to the location. Newer engines have their own global positioning equipment. Often the call taker has to instruct a caller to "stand on the street and watch for the fire department."
When major fires or other catastrophes (earthquakes) occur, the centers have expanded capabilities to deal with the particular event. To get an idea of the magnitude of what can occur, the Old Topanga Fire in 1993 in L. A. County was one the largest deployment of emergency equipment in US history. It involved over 7,000 firefighters from 1,000 fire companies. The centers are also integrating into the Homeland Security communications system and are adopting ROSS, Resource Ordering and Status System reporting. There is also a mechanism at the County center for alerting Southern California to an impending Tsunami.
Feel better about a potential emergency?
Kurt Kamm writes novels about fires and firefighters. A resident of Malibu, he has lived through several wildland fires. He is a regular visitor at the fire camps, stations and training academies of L.A. County Fire Department and CalFire. To learn more about his novels, One Foot in the Black, and Red Flag Warning, visit http://www.kurtkamm.com. Copyright 2008
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